Ok, here’s how this is going to work. I have for you today these things: an apology, a confession, some information, and an explanation, in that order.

APOLOGY!

Long ago, I promised to stop inundating the blog with comic reviews that only involved the so-called “Big Two” (DC and Marvel), and for a while, I did just that. But, my comic reading so heavily relies on those two (realistically, just one of them, but oh well), and it often shows.

So, I’m sorry, but this is kind of a big deal… or is it? More on that in a moment.

CONFESSION!

This week, I did something that I hadn’t really ever expected to do. This week, I started using Reddit. Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with Reddit. In fact, now that I understand how to use, I rather enjoy it and have spent much more time there than I have writing or doing anything productive. But, with subreddits like /gifsound, /youtubehaiku, and /gonewildcurvy, it’s easy to understand.

I mean… whoops.

INFORMATION!

I was looking through /DCcomics yesterday and saw a very spoilerific post about the end of Geoff Johns’ Justice League of America #4. It said something about killing major characters off right before a tremendous, universe-spanning crossover event. For those that don’t know, the DC “Trinity War” is coming very soon and will feature the three present Justice Leagues (Justice League, JLA, and Justice League Dark) in battle.

I suppose a smaller, secondary confession is need here. I haven’t been keeping up on any of the three titles. But, when I heard about the death at the end of JLA #4, I knew I had to check out what was going on.

Through the first part of the run, we see a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff about Amanda Waller and Steve Trevor creating the JLA as a contingency plan for if the Justice League turns on America and stuff like that. It’s pretty clear from the begin that there’s more to it than that, but they don’t necessarily discuss it openly. They just want a team that can take down the Justice League, and they hand-pick people to do it. This includes Martian Manhunter, Vibe, Katana, Stargirl, Hawkman, Catwoman, Green Lantern Baz, and Green Arrow, who blackmails Trevor into letting him join.

Long story short, Waller is super manipulative, and the team the Secret Society take Catwoman (whose been bugged) so they can figure out where the Society’s allegedly portable hideout is. She breaks free of the restraints she is placed in and makes her way around the hideout. She meets Professor Ivo who knocks her out and puts her back into the restraints. The leader of the Society threatens Catwoman with a gun. She tells me not to kill because Batman will come for them, the leader says that’s what he wants, and he kills her on the spot.

I must say, I’ve thought about Catwoman tied to a chair before, but never surrounded by a pool of her own blood…

Fade to black. Cliffhanger ending.

EXPLANATIONS!

Now, the way I see it, she’s no staying dead and there’s one of two explanations: resurrection or distraction.

1. Resurrection – It’s a simple idea, but it’s the most meta. I try not to do this too much because it takes a lot of fun out of reading comics. Maybe that’s something that held over from my brief D&D days. It drove me crazy when my compatriots did any metagaming.

Either way, we all know that Batman has Lazarus Pits, which exist solely to bring people back to life. Boom, there’s one way.

2. Distraction – This one is a bit less meta. Throughout the series, there is whispered talk about the idea that someone has stolen Selina Kyle’s identity. Now, let’s ask our old friend Anton Chekhov why they would talk about. I hear him saying something about a loaded gun and… man, my Russian is rusty. Regardless, you don’t go throwing an idea like that out there unless you are going to use it, maybe to explain that the lady who stole the identity was actual the one that made it to the Secret Society hideout, dying in a pool of blood instead of the sexy, sensual Selina herself.

People are calling this “the death that starts the Trinity War,” but I’m not so sure about that. If we pull back and metagame even harder, we can find things like solicitations for Catwoman through at-least August at this point, including an annual issue. Also, a live and well Catwoman graces covers of upcoming issues involving the Trinity War.

I hate to pick it apart piece by piece, but I just don’t see Catwoman staying dead for long, and I hope that’s true. Catwoman has been a favorite of mine for quite some time, since around the time I hit puberty, if you catch my drift. I really don’t want to see her go anywhere any time soon.

EDIT: I’m doing something I’ve never done before.

I was on reddit (yes, again. Don’t judge me) earlier, looking through more of /r/DCComics. There was a post asking about Catwoman in JLA #4. Some said that the “Catwoman wasn’t really Catwoman” theory was what most people are assuming at this point. I said I believe it. Someone asked me why.

I went back to the issues to pull out specific details and noticed something I had the first time around. That’s when I wrote this beauty of a comment, which I have included in it’s entirity here. Check it out, take a look at the issues. You’ll see that I’m on to something.

In issue #1, when “Catwoman” and Steve Trevor have the tussle in the apartment, they explicity say a lady has stolen her identity. Trevor says he registered the apartment in Selina’s name, that the imposter’s enemies came after “Catwoman”, almost causing her to lose her life. When Trevor says he knows the imposter’s real name, “Catwoman” jumps at the opportunity to join JLA, something I personally can’t see her doing. She’s pretty much out for herself, and I think she’d think she could figure shit out on her own. But, that’s not the case. The imposter has taken everything from her, and she’s desperate to get rid of her.

Issue #2, “Catwoman” walks into the conference room looking all full of sex (as per usual). She utters the phrase, “Eyes up here.” Remember that.

Issue #3, the sword that Katana carries threatens “Catwoman”, claiming it doesn’t trust her. J’onn reads her mind to she if she sold them out to the Secret Society, but nothing else. So she’s clean.

Issue #4, death of “Catwoman.” Fairly straightforward.

Now, back to this eye business. Selina Kyle has hazel eyes. I know this for a fact. I’ve had a bit of a Catwoman fetish since I hit puberty, but that’s neither here nor there.

Eye color, m’lad.

1 – hazel eyes
2 – blue eyes
3 – blue in the main story, hazel in the almost origin rehash B story in the back
4 – blue, including the shot of her lying in her own blood.

The phrase “eyes up here” can be taken as a throwaway line referencing the insane amount of cleavage she had at the time, but it calls attention to her eyes. Every scene she is in throughout the series has at least one panel calling attention to her eyes. That’s the tell.

Hazel eyes Catwoman is only present in the first issue when she agrees to join JLA. I think it’s safe to say that she and Trevor devised the plan to flush out “Catwoman,” especially because he was trying to do that in the first place. “Catwoman” wanted to be Catwoman, so she took the place of the real thing in JLA, Steve Trevor knew it, and put her constantly in harm’s way, including using her as bait for the Secret Society.

TL;DR – her eyes are a dead giveaway. Catwoman has hazel eyes. The lady who died in issue #4 has blue eyes.